Slow Roasted Chicken with Apples and Potatoes

There’s something you need to know about me: For YEARS I avoided whole chickens. Honestly, I avoided pretty much any meat with bones. If it wasn’t boneless chicken breasts or boneless pork chops or ground meat, I wasn’t buying or cooking it.

I’m not sure why. I guess I was scared of not cooking it correctly. I thought it was time consuming. I thought it was, well, too much work.

Well let me tell you.. this meal was a CINCH!

Roasting took some time but it’s passive. Once you put everything in the oven you are pretty much hands off except for a quick toss mid-way through.

And boy was it a crowd pleaser! All three boys devoured this meal. Even Little Bean!

Who, after his first bite of chicken kept asking for more.

He liked when I plucked it right off the thigh for him, and he ate the WHOLE darn thing!!

The Husband had not one complaint, eating in silence as he always does when he likes a meal, and Ryan enjoyed a leg and the other thigh.

I couldn’t have been more ecstatic.

Let me tell you how I made it and then share 2 other ideas using the bones to make soup and the leftover potatoes for breakfast. This idea is going into regular rotation at my house!
Here’s what I did…

1 large sweet potato cut into about 1 inch cubes

1 large baking potato cut into cubes slightly smaller than the sweet potato

Remove any gizzards and organs from the chicken’s cavity and set aside. We’ll use later for soup! :)

Rinse the chicken and lay in the roasting pan on top of the potatoes pushing some aside so it’s flat in the pan. We need to cover it later.

Stuff the apple cores into the chicken.

Sprinkle the chicken with salt, sage, rosemary and thyme.

Cover and place in the preheated oven for 1 and half hours. There’s no need to check on it.

If you don’t have a cover, aluminum foil should work.

After the 1.5 hours, remove the cover, toss the potatoes, and raise the temperature to 425 degrees.

Roast for an additional 30-45 minutes until the temperature of chicken is 165 degrees, skin is golden brown, and juices run clear when pierced. My bird was 4.89 pounds and took the whole 45 minutes.

I served the chicken alongside the potatoes and apples plus some fresh roasted asparagus.

It was an AMAZING meal! (Sorry for my picture quality getting worse through the post. I ran out of sunlight. :)

Now, on to my 2 additional ideas using this meal…

1. Soup!

The biggest benefit of buying and cooking a whole chicken is the soup. It’s so simple and so tasty you’ll want to start to make a chicken a week because really, the soup has endless possibilities and it’s cheaper, healthier, and tastier than anything you can get in a can.

After dinner I put the bones with any and all chicken left on it in a stock pot with…

enough water to cover the bones

gizzards, liver and other organs found in the cavity

a quartered onion with skin (it adds flavor and color!)

2 celery hearts or a couple of stalks

2-3 carrots

1 head of garlic halved with skin

1 1/2 tbsp of kosher salt

About 1 tsp rosemary

About 1 tsp thyme

About 1 tsp ground sage

About 1 tsp whole peppercorns

About 1 tsp tumeric (great color)

About 1/2 tsp whole cloves

Honestly, every time I make it, it’s a little different but these are my base ingredients to make a rich, deep, broth.

I bring everything to a boil and then simmer overnight in the stock pot. The next morning I strain the broth.

This batch came out super dark!

Once it’s drained put the broth in the fridge until you are ready to use or separate into smaller containers and freeze.

Pluck through the solids from the pot and remove any chicken for your soup.

This morning I used the broth I made and made a quick soup by adding,

the plucked chicken

celery

carrots

spinach (small box of frozen)

1/2 cup dry steel cut oats, and

1/2 cup whole grain alphabet pasta (Just found this at the store!!)

to the broth, bringing to a boil and then simmering for about 30 minutes until I was ready to eat.

The result is YUMMY! and perfect for this super cold weather we’ve been having.

I’ll be eating this all week and tonight we are have soup and sandwich for dinner so that one chicken was good for 2 family meals!

2. Leftover Potato Hash

My second idea using the leftovers was for breakfast. I had some potatoes left and decided to use them for a quick hash.

Basically I added all the leftover sweet and white potatoes (-minus any apple) and warmed them in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Then I added some chopped fresh spinach and an egg. Toss and cook until the egg cooked to your liking.

Bam! Leftover potato hash! It was delicious with just a bit of ketchup. :)

So there you have it. One big meal with a couple of ideas for leftovers. Like I said, I feared the whole chicken for so long but it really gives you a great meal plus! If you haven’t taken the leap yet, do it!

The more you cook the better you get at it. I’ve poked and prodded my share of chickens and every time I cook one it gets easier and easier. I have a lot less fear of it not being done or too dry.

No nutritional information for this one. It’s just too complicated to figure out the number of servings. That being said I don’t worry about meals like this. I prepared chicken, potatoes, and apples. It’s all good stuff!!

Hey Roni - You can also use your crockpot to make stock. I keep a ziploc in the freezer for all the vegetable scraps (celery tops, leek tops, carrot skins, leftover herbs I can't use before they go bad, etc.) and another bags for chicken bones/carcasses. When the bags get full, they go into the crockpot!
You mentioned that your stock was dark. For a lighter stock, don't use the onion skin and don't use a red onion. Also, don't use any ground spices - use the whole sage, for example. Rosemary can also get bitter when cooked for a long time. I just use whatever fresh herbs I have.
Also, when you refrigerate the stock, the fat rises to the top, which you can then skim off. If you want a really clear stock, you can clarify your stock by reheating your stock on the stove and adding in two egg whites and crushed egg shell. (Google this for more information.) Reply

Krista S.

January 24, 2013

What a beautiful bird! We make a roasted chicken at least a few times a month because they are simple and everyone loves them. I like using lemon, rosemary, garlic, and onions to season them and making soup from the bones is always so delicious. I love that you used steel cut oats in your soup. I bet that was similar to using barley? Reply

Diane @ Vintage Zest

January 25, 2013

This looks so good! I like how you use all parts of the bird and make multiple meals out of one cooked chicken. Now I know what to blog about next! Reply

roni-i took a class at red moon herbs in black mountain nc it was suggested to add a bit of apple cider vinegar to the chicken carcass while cooking to leach out extra calcium. what do you think? this addition does not seem to change the taste. i am going to ww and really enjoy your site...thanks! Reply

Chris - I never heard that but doing a quick search I can see it’s pretty common! I don’t think it would effect the taste at all. I’m going to try it next time! Reply

Michele

January 25, 2013

This recipe looks amazing!! I have a couple whole chickens in my freezer right now and this could be dinner for the entire weekend!! A few questions though, could you explain exactly how you strained the bones and everything? Did you use just a regular kitchen towel (tightly woven) or what? Could you tell me your process? I've never done anything like that!! Reply

Tightly woven! That’s the phrase I was looking for! :) Thanks Michele and yes, I lay tightly woven towel in a strainer and then put the strainer in a large bowl. You can kind of see it in the picture above. Most of the time I can dump the both without the whole carcass falling in.
Once all the liquid is dumped I slowly pull the strainer out of the bowl since the water level is so deep. Then I pluck through the bones left in the strainer.
Does that make sense?I know it’s overwhelming at first but its pretty easy. You just have find your own technique using your bowls and strainers. For really big batches I use the top of my cake saver container because it’s so deep and big! Reply

lauren

January 27, 2013

This is in the oven right now. Hope my toddler and picky husband like it add much as yours! Reply

Courtney

January 27, 2013

I made this tonight for dinner and it was a huge hit with the whole family. I have my chicken stock going in the crockpot now.
I love ideas like this for multiple meals and would love to see more of them on Green Lite Bites. Your website is one of my favorites--always great recipes and ideas that satisfy the whole family. Keep up the great work. Reply

lauren

January 27, 2013

Update picky husband loved it, toddler had some of the chic so I am calling that as victory. Soup is in crock pot ready for an as all night simmer and leftover potatoes are in the fridge waiting to become a hash later in the week! Thank you so much for this easy recipe. As a working mom I am always on the lookout for double duty dinners. Reply

Tiger

January 27, 2013

I've always been afraid of making stock. I don't know why, I know it's simple but this really makes it seem so easy! Now I know what to add to the grocery list this week. Reply

Okay, fixed this Saturday night for dinner, made the soup for Sunday night's dinner (along with some hot, fresh French bread from the bread machine) and cooked the hash for lunch after church. All three were awesome!! Thank yo so much!! Reply

Bernadette

January 28, 2013

Hi, I love your website. Thanks for sharing with us all these great recipes. I have made several, but I made this chicken two days ago and my husband told me its the best chicken I have ever made. THANKS! Random question, what roasting pan did you use (or where did you get it?) I've not seen one like that. Reply

That's is the best compliemnt ever Bernadette! So glad your husband liked it! As for the pan, it came in a Wolfgang Puck set my mother-in-law got me. I think it's in his bostro series. Hope that helps! Reply

Lauren

January 30, 2013

I had the soup on Monday and the has with a scramble egg tonight - and guess what I still have leftovers! Love a meal that can make dinners and lunches for days. I wish the picky todder liked the soup - she wouldn't even try it - very frustrating at times. I don't want to have a picky husband and child. I am hoping she gets out of it when she grows a bit more. I won't stop trying though!!! Reply

Keep at it Lauren, my oldest would never eat soup either. He's now 7 and I just got him to at least try it! He's coming around. Now my toddler actually does like it! So you just never know. Just keep fighting the good fight! :) Reply

I was wondering if you tied the chicken's legs and wings up or just left them loose. I'm terrified of a whole chicken, I tried to do one once and the recipe I was using you had to tie up the chicken. I unfortunately didn't have anything to tie it up with so I wound up wasting a whole chicken because I had already thawed it out and didn't know what to do with it. I would love to try your recipe though, it looks delicious. Reply

Katheren - I never tied a chicken. It's not a neccassity, just a preference. Don't fear the chicken! Give it and yourself a chance! Reply

Alicia

February 27, 2013

Made my FIRST whole chicken last night! My hubs was SO IMPRESSED!! All thanks to you!! I made the stock this morning- my first ever! And we had a version of the soup for dinner! My one and a half year old joined in on BOTH!!! Thank you again, so much! These recipes are seriously inspiring me!!!! Love feeding my family healthy whole food!! And no leftovers for the potatoes and eggs! (We're all huge sweet potato lovers!!) or I would've tried it! Next up your pasta sauce!!! Thanks again! Reply

This recipie looks amazing and thanks for sharing this information. Reply

Mindy

October 15, 2013

Hi!
This recipe looks amazing (the chicken) and I bought my 1st whole chicken today and have no idea how to cook it. My husband and I get home late and don't normally have patience for long cook times on our dinners. Do you think I could toss the potatoes, apples and bird in the crock pot on low... for a few hours and it would work? Maybe add water or some other sort of liquid for moisture? Anyone else try this? Or, any recommendations on cooking times? Thanks in advance! Reply

I don't see why not. All the flavors would be there, you just wouldn't have the crispy skin. Or you can wait to the weekend to roast it and then have the leftovers all week. :)
I would say at least 4 hours in the crockpot on high. Don't think you'd need much liquid. just a little for the bottom and then then juices would come out of everything.
Hope it works out!

Mindy

January 7, 2014

Thank you for the help! I know this reply is very late, I did make it in the oven over a weekend and it was great! We loved the potatoes/apples especially. I'm going to try the crock pot version this week.
Thanks again! Reply

Mark

February 16, 2014

Yum! I wanted to put a twist on my normal chicken arrangement, so I searched for roast chicken with apples, and I found this page. I also sliced up some garlic and placed it between the skin and breast. I doubled the amount of potatoes and sweets, and threw some onions in there too. I placed the chicken breast side down on a bed of the apples and vegetables. Let's just say this, I ate quite a bit of it at the cutting board. Phenomenal! Reply

MeekLeeks

February 24, 2014

Roni, your "tightly woven" kitchen towel looks like the IKEA towels I use for everything. Never thought of using them for this. Thanks for the idea! :) Reply

I’m Roni, a 30-ish working mom with a passion for coming up with lite recipe ideas. In ‘05, I started a weight loss blog to help me lose 70 lbs! Now my focus is to archive and share my food ideas.
Read more on the about page.